This article is my personal interpretation of events at this time. Any mistakes are my own.
Once again at the Winter Solstice of 489AD, the Briton Kings take their places at the Round Table at Caerleon.. In attendance are:
Tutagaul Ap Ervin Ap Cinuit of Alt Clut ( dispossessed).
Einon of Gwynedd.
Cadell of Powys.
Gereint Ap Cador ( “ Llyngesic” Navarch of the British Fleet) and King of Cernow.
Iddon Ap Ynyr of Gwent.
Arthur arrives with Merlin and they take their seats on one side of the hall. Although Magister Militum ( Pendragon) of the Briton Commitatus, and Caerleon is his headquarters, he is not Royal so does not have a seat at the table. Arthur is now 22 years old. A seasoned and successful Commander with many victories.
The Kings praise Arthur and his battlefield success.The conversation takes on a more serious tone as Cadell raises the notion of disbanding the Commitatus.
His reasoning is that now that the Picts and Riartans are defeated and the Seaxons are fighting each other, the threat to Cambria has diminished.
As before, it doesn’t take long for arguments to commence regarding Land Rights and Sovereignty. Looking at Arthur, Merlin rises and walks slowly to the table. With that movement all goes quiet. The power of Merlin’s presence has never diminished. The Kings are still in awe of a senior representative of the Old Gods even with the rise of Christianity.
Merlin tells the assembled Monarchs that although the Seaxons are fighting like Crows over a carcass, another leader like Aelle will surface. Their arguments another powerful reason why Arthur has control of the Commitatus.
Arthur then speaks of his plans. Tutagaul and his troops will go with the Commitatus. He needs enough troops to invest Alt Clut and be able to fight off any enemy troops attempting to assist Caw.The army must move at the end of March after the crops have been sown. It will take 60 days to march to Alt Clut….
They then have four weeks to take or destroy Caw’s grip on Alt Clut. The Fortress must be taken by the end of June and Tutagaul reinstalled as King. The army must return by the end of August to reap the harvest.
Arthur is also taking most of the fleet with him in order to invest the Fortress. June is when the Irish Sea is at its calmest.
As Arthur finishes his speech there is uproar in the chamber. Some accuse Arthur of wishing to expand his army to conquer Cambria for himself! Merlin bangs his staff on the floor three times. As all goes quiet he utters one loud sentence:
Support the Pendragon…. or perish by fire and sword…..
THE BRITON COMMITATUS: 13,000 = 13pts x 5 = 65pts.
Arthur: Magister Militum ( The Pendragon) @ 3pts.
1 stand of Mounted Bucellarii @ 3pts.
4 stands of Veteran Infantry @ 3pts = 12pts.
4 stands of Auxilliary Veteran Archers @ 2pts = 8pts.
Owain: @ 2pts.
Cadwy: @ 2pts.
Rogatainus: @ 2pts.
2 stands of Ballista @ 1 pt =2pts.
TUTAGAUL: @ 2pts
8 stands of Infantry @ 2pts = 16pts.
4 stands of Light Infantry Archers @ 1pt =4pts.
1 stand of mounted Bucellarii @ 2pts.
KING IDDONS MILITIA:
3 stands of Militia Infantry @ 2pts = 6pts.
1 stand of Light Infantry Archers @ 1pt.
THE SHIPS:
15 ships each with 100 men = 1,500 men = 1.5pts x 5 = 8pts r/u. = 6 ships : 4 ships each with one stand of Archers @ 1pt.
2 ships each with 1 stand of ballista @ 2pts each.
THE PICT ARMY: 12,000 = 12pts x 5 = 60pts.
Inside Alt Clut: 4,000 = 4pts x 5 = 20pts.
Niall ( fictional ) @ 1pt.
7 stands of Militia Infantry @ 2pts = 14pts.
5 stands of missile troops @ 1pt = 5pts.
RELIEVE FORCE: 8,000 = 8pts x 5 = 40pts.
Caw @ 1pt.
15 stands of Warrior Infantry @ 2pts = 30 pts.
5 stands of archers @ 1pt = 5pts.
2 stands of Light Cavalry @ 2pts = 4pts.
THE BATTLE
* The battle will be played for eight Game-Turns unless one side suffers a Morale collapse before the 8th Game-Turn is played out.
* Each side will note their morale total:
The Pict army is 30 points.( the field army and the Garrison).
The Briton army is 33 points.
* As a stand is removed from the table its points are deducted from its respective total.
* The Briton Army retains the Initiative Point for the entire 8 Game-Turns.
* The Britons will move first on every Game Turn.
* The Britons will fire first in every Game-Turn.
* The Britons win any tied results.
* The trees block Line of sight. As you can see in the photo below. The archers on the left can fire at the Pict slingers. However the spearmen to the right cannot fire diagonally at the Pict slingers because there is a model tree on the front facing of the square.
* when moving through the trees, stands can only move one square.
* Any stand forced into the water will be lost.
THE PICT GARRISON:
* From the third Game-Turn onward, at the start of the Turn, a six sided dice is thrown for the Garrison: If a “1” or “2” is thrown the Garrison will leave the fortress in the following Game-Turns.
* Stands within the fortress ignore the “Move back” as a result of a die roll. However, the target stand must deduct 2 points if firing back within the same Game-Turn.
* The above rule also applies to ships archers and ballista crew.
* THE SHIPS BALLISTA: If the target rolls any lower score against the ships ballista shot. The target stand is removed from the board.
* The ships can only land at the jetty next to the castle. If they move into a square adjacent to the land next to the two armies, they cannot move for the rest of the battle. ( They are grounded.)
VICTORY;
* The side with the higher Morale tally wins the battle. If the Britons have the higher morale tally at the end of 8 Game-Turns, they have won regardless of whether they have taken Alt Clut.
* If one side ends up with a Zero morale tally at, or before the end of eight Game-Turns, they have lost the battle.
* If Caw is removed from the table, the game finishes at the end of that Game-Turn
THE HISTORY:
Historians cannot agree as to the location of Mount Agned. Most dismiss it altogether as part of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s fictional account of King Arthur.
Nennius says that a battle was fought at this place. Those who have given serious study to the debate have suggested Edinburgh Castle or Stirling Castle. Nearly all are sure it took place in Scotland. So, why have I chosen Dumbarton Castle??
To me, “ Agned” sounds like “Alt Clut”. There could have been a misinterpretation of Alt Clut to Agned by Nennius. The “Mount” part of the name is also pertinent because Alt Clut, or Dumbarton Castle to give it its modern name sits on top of a natural volcanic plug of rock on the bank of the river Clyde. It’s not part of any range of hills. It is the oldest fortress in Scotland.
I have been there with my Wife. ( In 2005, before I had any knowledge of Arthur’s story.) It is indeed a formidable position. The Rock itself is unassailable , while those trying to break the doors of the entrance would face a storm of missiles from the twin peaks above.
One story has “King” Arthur in Scotland to combat a Scottish Noble. Caw did exist. He did usurp Tutagaul but the circumstances are not known. Caw managed to escape when Arthur took Alt Clut after a battle.
That’s how I came up with this scenario. Caw had to be outside of Alt Clut because he managed to escape during, or after the fighting. Arthur fought a battle and won at “ Mount Agned”. He couldn’t storm the fortress, knowing the casualties it would cause. He didn’t have time to besiege the place. Therefore he had to drive the Garrison out.
When the Romans left Britannia they left behind training manuals so that the Britons could defend themselves. Shipbuilding was still taking place. With Merlin’s knowledge of Latin, Ballista and/ or Catapults could be built and transported by ship. Smaller ones by the army.
The weather history for the 5th century swung wildly between flood and drought. The Irish Sea was relatively calm in June, which would give the fully laden ships a fairly safe passage from Cornwall to Alt Clut.
Alt Clut, was strategically important. The Saxons had infiltrated the East coast of Northern Britain and were moving slowly westward. The Dal Riata ( Scots-Irish ) were still active in the area and Alt Clut protected the Northern flank of the Briton Kingdoms.
Arthur also had unfinished business in the north, previously failing to pursue the enemy after the Battle of the River Croquet. He needed to prove to his enemies that he was still powerful.
After Arthur took the fortress, it became known as “ Dun Breatann”, the “ Fortress of the Britons” with Tutagaul restored as King. This naming of the fortress did happen in the 5th century.
As before, nearly all the above is conjectural. However, there are some historical instances which lend actuality to an otherwise fictional story. Personally, I am totally convinced that “ Mount Agned” is indeed Alt Clut, the modern Dumbarton Castle.
CREDITS:
Nearly all the Picts are from Redbox. Some are Hat Industries Saxons. Tutagaul and his men are the Goths from Hat Industries.
Iddon’s Militia are from the Hat Industries Roman Light Infantry as are the small Ballista. Arthur’s Veteran Infantry and Bucellarii are from Newline Designs.
The ships are scratchbuilt as are the large Ballista. All the Ballista crews are from Hat Industries Roman Light Infantry. Owain is from the Hat Industries Heavy Cavalry on a Ceaser Miniatures horse.
The boat crews are from Emhar Viking Crew figures.
The Light Cavalry are from the Hat Industries Goth Cavalry. The Pict Standards are sticky labels attached to North Star Miniatures Javelins and hand painted.
Arthur’s standards and shield decals are from Little Big Man Studios.
The tiles forming the castle and flat ground, are made of cork tiles with flock. ( not a concise model ) The wall and fence sections are from Alternative Armies. The gate section was scratchbuilt from cardboard. The road is from thin cardboard. The trees are from various manufacturers, Guagemaster being one.
The huts are from Peter Pig (?).
The round stands are 40mm mdf from Sarissa Precision. The 40mm square stands are cut from picture-framing cardboard.
The sea section is an ocean cover with 4” squares. A custom mat from Deep Cut Studios. The table is 3 feet x 2 feet ( 90cm x 60cm).
ADDENDUM; 14th May 2026.
It appears I have inadvertently “ done a Nennius”. In all my blogs on Arthur I have referred to Dumbarton Castle as ALT CLUD, or “ ALCLUD” when in fact it should be ALT CLUT.
I shall go back through my blogs and correct the situation as much as possible. My apologies to Historians everywhere.
